{"id":3610,"date":"2024-07-17T22:03:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T22:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=3610"},"modified":"2024-07-17T22:03:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T22:03:34","slug":"media-stop-calling-idiot-shooters-snipers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=3610","title":{"rendered":"Media: Stop Calling Idiot Shooters \u201cSnipers\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\">\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-of-Thomas-Matthew-Crooks.jpeg\" data-caption=\"Screenshot of Thomas Matthew Crooks just prior to being neutralized by Secret Service snipers.\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"389\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-of-Thomas-Matthew-Crooks.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-of-Thomas-Matthew-Crooks.jpeg 584w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-of-Thomas-Matthew-Crooks-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-of-Thomas-Matthew-Crooks-150x100.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-of-Thomas-Matthew-Crooks-560x373.jpeg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" alt=\"\" title=\"Screenshot of Thomas Matthew Crooks.\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot of Thomas Matthew Crooks just prior to being neutralized by Secret Service snipers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-next-post-navi\">\n<p>\nNext Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Trump, one thing happened that didn\u2019t surprise me at all: people calling the shooter a \u201csniper.\u201d There was also plenty of other dumb stuff said by \u201cexperts\u201d on social media and in the media, as usual, like saying that an AR-15 is especially deadly at long range, that it takes special training to handle the round and that Eagle Scout is an elite paramilitary group.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, I stole that last one from a movie, but you have to admit that it\u2019s an equally dumb statement that would have fit right in.<\/p>\n<p>In this post, I want to explain why it\u2019s foolish for media figures and others to call a shooter like this a \u201csniper,\u201d and that it could inspire copycats through false glorification of what was really an evil act of mostly dumb luck.<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s A Sniper?<\/h3>\n<p>Before I get into the definition I\u2019d use for a sniper, let\u2019s first get the whole dictionary definition out of the way first:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-547696\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1396\" height=\"747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010.jpeg 1396w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-300x161.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-700x375.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-768x411.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-150x80.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-696x372.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-1068x571.jpeg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-785x420.jpeg 785w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_0010-560x300.jpeg 560w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1396px) 100vw, 1396px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s break this down into its elements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shoots from a hiding place<\/li>\n<li>Usually accurately<\/li>\n<li>Usually from long range<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As we\u2019ve seen in videos, the guy did not shoot from a hiding place. People saw him take a ladder, climb onto the roof and then take aim. Nothing about what he was doing was hidden. The only reason he didn\u2019t get shot right away is because it took some time (too much time) for police to notice him and adequately respond, as well as for Secret Service counter-snipers to know that he wasn\u2019t one of the cops that was supposed to be up there. He wasn\u2019t hidden at all and only got shots off due to luck that lined up with incompetence.<\/p>\n<p>So, no, not a sniper, but let\u2019s keep going. Accuracy and long range are important to the definition of a sniper, even if they\u2019re not strictly necessary in common parlance.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to accuracy, you\u2019d have to accept some very low standards to miss a head-sized target at 125 yards with a rifle. But, I\u2019ll shelf this element because we aren\u2019t sure whether it was bad fundamentals, distraction from a cop who went onto the roof to see what was going on that messed him up or Trump merely moving his head enough in the time to literally dodge the bullet. For all we know, he could have made that shot under other circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>But, it\u2019s indisputable that the shot was not at long range. I\u2019d be impressed with a 125ish yard shot from a pistol, but anyone with much practice can hit a 4-inch target at 125 yards with an AR all day. It requires no special skill or even much dedication to get good enough to make a shot at that short range.<\/p>\n<p>Really, I have a hard time considering anything under 300 yards to be long range, because that\u2019s within chip shot range. For a given target size and a given zero, there\u2019s a set of ranges that require no consideration for ballistics. You can aim straight at the target and still hit it regardless.<\/p>\n<p>For a 6-inch target, XM193 ammunition and a 50-yard zero, anything from zero to almost 300 yards will still hit somewhere on the target. <a href=\"https:\/\/fenixammo.com\/pages\/maximum-point-blank-range-mpbr-the-best-rifle-zero-for-home-defense\">This means that the maximum point blank range, meaning the shooter doesn\u2019t need to hold high or low to make the shot and aiming for a head-sized target for that gun is about 300 yards<\/a>. To underscore, if you take aim at the center of target and have good fundamentals, you can hit the target without adjusting aim.<\/p>\n<p>So, I\u2019d argue that 125 yards, falling far short of 300 yards, is not long range. It requires nothing but knowledge of basic shooting fundamentals to achieve. You don\u2019t have to get the math wrong. You don\u2019t have to misjudge anything under a 30 MPH wind, either. Expert mistakes don\u2019t have to be made; only rookie mistakes must be made to miss this shot.<\/p>\n<p>When we call shooters like this snipers we risk glorifying what they did far beyond any deserved recognition of skill. A number of dumb mistakes had to happen by both the law enforcement presence there as well as by the shooter for even the missed shot to happen. Making such an unstable fool sound cool in any way risks encouraging other unstable fools to try it, and probably only get themselves, and in this case, other innocent people, killed or wounded.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, we should both take this threat seriously while also making it clear that it was an amateurish attempt unworthy of any real recognition.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-next-post-navi\">\n<p>\nNext Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/media-stop-calling-idiot-shooters-snipers\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Screenshot of Thomas Matthew Crooks just prior to being neutralized by Secret Service snipers. Next Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6 In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Trump, one thing happened that didn\u2019t surprise me at all: people calling the shooter a \u201csniper.\u201d There was also plenty of other dumb stuff said by \u201cexperts\u201d on social [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}